1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the control and manipulation of vehicles in a transit system, such as adding a vehicle to the system, removing a vehicle from the system, and coupling or uncoupling vehicles from each other and, in particular, to an automated manipulation system using wireless communication and control to manipulate vehicles in a transit system.
2. Description of Related Art
Transit vehicles and transit systems, such as railway vehicles and railway systems, are used extensively throughout the world in order to move both people and goods from location to location. In order to add or remove a vehicle to or from a transit system, a transfer table or some other means of placing or removing the vehicle is required. Similarly, when coupling or uncoupling vehicles or trains to or from each other, some control technique is required to successfully complete the operation. Control systems and methods have been developed for assisting in an add/remove or couple/uncouple operation in a transit system. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,195,023 is directed to a system for positioning automated controlled vehicles on various tracks in a moving block system. However, this system requires human interaction and the manual positioning of the vehicles using switches driven and controlled by human force.
With respect to the coupling/uncoupling operation, systems and methods have also been developed to assist in this process. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,610,206 discloses a micro-controlled classification railroad yard that uses fixed block methods for coupling and uncoupling rail vehicles from each other. This system does not discuss the use of a communication based contactless control system, such as a moving block system. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,758,848 discloses an automatic switching system for use in connection with railroad freight trains, and this system also uses fixed block methods. Therefore, this system also does not discuss a contactless moving block system.
Therefore, there remains a need for an automated manipulation system and method for achieving a controlled addition and removal of vehicles from the transit system. There is a further need for an automated manipulation system and method that uses unique identifications for trains or individual transit vehicles for use in controlling the actions thereof. Accordingly, there remains a need for a system and method that allows for the addition or removal of vehicles to and from a vehicle path in a contactless moving block system. Still further, there is a need for a system and method that allows for the coupling and uncoupling of vehicles on a vehicle path in a contactless moving block system.